Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - New to car maintenance but wary of those mechanics places

nash · 11-07-2003, 10:24 PM

Hi, I'm new to maintaining cars, and I bought a used car ~20,000 miles ago. It's got ~114,000 miles on it now, and I'm going on a ~4.5 hr trip next weekend and have no choice but to drive this car. Although I don't think that there's anything wrong with this car, I'd like to make sure everything is in order before I start out on my trip.

So in general, what kinds of things should I check? I've been doing regular oil changes myself, but haven't taken it to a mechanic. I want to check my belts and spark plugs and what not, but I don't know what to look for or how to replace them even if I find something wrong. So I'm thinking of taking it to a Jiffy Lube or something to get it looked at professionally, but I'm afraid that they'll overcharge me or something.

So what kind of stuff should I look for and watch out for if/when I go?

TIA

11-07-2003, 10:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
nash Psycho	New to car maintenance but wary of those mechanics places Hi, I'm new to maintaining cars, and I bought a used car ~20,000 miles ago. It's got ~114,000 miles on it now, and I'm going on a ~4.5 hr trip next weekend and have no choice but to drive this car. Although I don't think that there's anything wrong with this car, I'd like to make sure everything is in order before I start out on my trip. So in general, what kinds of things should I check? I've been doing regular oil changes myself, but haven't taken it to a mechanic. I want to check my belts and spark plugs and what not, but I don't know what to look for or how to replace them even if I find something wrong. So I'm thinking of taking it to a Jiffy Lube or something to get it looked at professionally, but I'm afraid that they'll overcharge me or something. So what kind of stuff should I look for and watch out for if/when I go? TIA